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Dog eaten alive by worms in Bosnian dog ‘shelter’

UPDATE: 21 OCTOBER sadly Donna lost the fight. R.I.P. beautiful girl. Your last days were full of warmth and love. I’m so sorry we did not find you sooner.

If you have been reading this blog recently you will know that Jelena Paunović and animal activists are visiting and documenting the horrific conditions in the so-called ‘shelters’ of Bosnia-Herzegovina in order bring a report to parliament. They barely have funds to pay for petrol to visit these shelters, but it’s impossible for them to ignore the plight of these dogs and not try to save them.

The dog above was found in Doboj shelter, lying in her own excrement, in the filth that is the ground all the dogs there must live in. She is just a bag of bones and she is unable to walk or stand.

When activists inspected her closely, they saw her immobile hindquarters being eaten by maggots. Her eyes are infected and she is in a terrible state. They could not leave her and brought her to Sarajevo where she is getting vet treatment.

If you can help with her care, she’s called Donna, please go to the bottom of the page for details of how to make a donation. Any amount no matter how small will help. It’s possible it is too late for her. If you can’t bear to read on, here is a button for Paypal donations. Please mark your donation ‘for Donna’. The situation in Doboj like most of the government funded ‘shelters’ is beyond belief, and is entirely against the animal welfare law that currently exists in Bosnia, which is why activists from Sarajevo are doing their best to document these abuses of the law. dogs crammed into cages, the usual stale white bread to eat (if anything). 150 dogs screaming for food.

Another shocking case from this shelter is a dog with a botched neutering operation. This dog also has a damaged eye and an open wound from a dog bite. This dog was also brought back to Sarajevo.

On my way back from Zagreb I went to Doboj and found him covered in blood after enduring a non professional castration. They didn’t let me take a photo of this horrific scene. He’s a male and they placed him with another very dominant male who fiercely attacked him, his leg was very badly bitten. I couldn’t look so I just started screaming and said I was taking him with me, the guard was against it, I couldn’t take it anymore, I attacked him, I asked how it is possible that a shelter which is in such a bad state doesn’t have the rehoming of animals as a priority, and asked if it was all about money, like it has been in every shelter until now. The man was dumbfounded. I fed around 20 dogs and 4 cats against his will, he didn’t let me take pictures and I didn’t insist because Jelena had taken a lot of photos the day before…The dog is now in pension and he needs help for pension and for veterinary care.

Could YOU visit these “shelters” and not save a dog? Even though there is no money, no place to keep the dog? Jelena Paunović tells her story on her Facebook page:

Visiting dog shelters has its dark side. When you go there, you see so many desperate dogs in need. The first thought is “Hmm… how can I save them all?,“ and the second thought is “I have to save this one. I know I have to… somehow“… That’s how I have three new cases without financial support yet.

We saved Mica from Gorazde…We found her in a cage with 15 other dogs. They didn’t allow her to drink or eat even though their “food“ was just one piece of bread for them all. The “Shelter“ in Goražde is one of the worst I’ve seen, 150 dogs living in terrible conditions, there are no any activists to take care of them. I believe we are the first activists who visited that shelter- ever. When we saw Mica, she was shaking, her eyes were telling us “Please save me!“.For the last ten days Mica lives in my house but she can’t stay here until we find her a good permanent home, because I already have three dogs and cats, and most of the day I am not at home, so I have to find 120 euros for her pension per month and another 50 euros for her vet expenses.

When we visited Trebinje shelter, we heard one puppy screaming. We asked the worker what’s happening, but he wasn’t interested to even talk with us. My friend jumped over the fence and found a 20 day old puppy in the sewer. He saved her and we decided to pick her up and try to find her a forever home.We call her Petal. Since the 21st September this little girl is in pension. One day cost 4 euros, we already owe 28 euros.

Third case I am responsible for is a sick little girl from Doboj shelter.Worker said: “I think this dog is sick!“. My God! When we saw her, half of her body was covered with worms! At the Vet faculty in Sarajevo, the vets cleaned her wounds and gave her therapy. The vet made a x-ray of her spine and there are no fractures to explain why she cannot walk. But she is very sick and something is wrong with her eyes, so we have to have her checked for distemper and other diseases. She is pension too and we’ve named her Donna. Funds are needed for her pension and for vet care – just one test for distemper costs 20 euros.

Doboj shelter is one of many where people don’t care about dogs.

When I said that I want to visit all shelters and start writing stories, I totally forgot how many injured dogs I will see and how desperate I will be if I don’t help any of them. I also said that I am done with pensions but it seems I can’t live without helping animals, case by case… and God knows how many animals I saved. Of course, every single case costs and I can’t do anything without your support. Please help me save these three lovely girls, Mica, Petal and Donna. Thanks in advance.

DONATIONSFunds are needed not only to help individual rescues and to help us keep safe the rescued dogs we are sponsoring but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia, uncovering the truth about what is happening there.

On our sister site, Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia, you can set up a monthly donation via PayPal, or if you want to make a one-off donation, please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org as a ‘gift’. Click on the image below to be taken to PayPal’s home page.

Or if you want to use the customised PayPal form, click the link below. However, a transaction fee and a percentage (2- 5.4%) will be deducted by PayPal for any contribution made.

If you want your contribution to go to a specific dog or cause, please make a note in the PayPal comment box. If you wish to contribute via bank transfer or have other difficulties or questions,please go here.

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This site is dedicated to Vučko. Read his story and don’t let him have suffered and died in vain. Please help the stray dogs and cats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The situation there is utterly dire, Vučko is but one amongst many horrifically abused animals. Go here to find out how to help them. Money is needed for food, medicine and foster housing. Even just one dollar or one euro will help.

I’m shocked at the state of these “shelters”!! Although I’ve seen similar conditions before every new case makes me want to scream from all rooftops – What on earth are you doing?? These animals rely completely on mankind for food, love and shelter. We are the cause of their over-breeding by not being responsible from the beginning. They are strays by no fault of their own and on top of all this, we make them suffer for our irresponsibility!!
Shame on us!!

CLOSE THAT SHIT HOLE DOWN….if they can’t afford to feed the dogs properly not stale bread then they shouldn’t have dogs over there that is plain cruely and of coarse they will fight for food because there isn’t enough……Plus they don’t know how to look after the animals period…I am glad some were saved….I HATE CRUEL PEOPLE!!!

this is so unaccpetable….the horrible part is you said Bosnia has laws that allow this kind of treatment. sounds like govenment officials needs these pictures and investgate.. hopefully they will and not get paid off to keep there mouths shut…

this is beyond saddening. i just donated 100 euros, i hope this helps… i will try to donate more, but right now that’s all i can afford… thank you so much for the work you are doing, you are angels on earth! i will write a blog post about you, mentioning this post, i hope it will raise awareness and help you!